Shall We Dance?
by TL-chan
Summary: Mantid's latest plan to get the Oracle Keys is a bit unusual, especially if one tries to read into it. BugueseAqune, with some slight HunterCorona


AN: Takes place after episode 15, maybe overlapping with it a little bit. I was careful to actually let it fit in the canon though. (Now as for whether the events are canonically possible is another story.) It's always fun to spruce up a semi-boring episode with borderline crack. Also, I'm using Japanese names again. I already know I'm out of my mind, so there's no need to remind me. - Also, I don't think I can count the number of times I had to pause from my typing to start blushing madly over the fact that I'm actually writing this ridiculousness. With that being said, let there be crack!

"Buguese, you need to reclaim the Oracle Keys before it's too late!" Mantid ordered. He said this as calmly as he could, but Buguese understood how serious his leader was.

"As you wish, Mantid-sama," said Buguese. "I'll have Aqune get right to work at locating them."

"There will be time for that later," Mantid responded. "For now, I have something better I'd like you to do. You must claim the key that the Spider Riders currently possess."

"At once," said Buguese. "I will do anything for you. I too await the day in which the Insectors will prosper and rule the Inner World."

"That day will come soon," Mantid replied. "Now, there's just one complication about my plan for you that you must be informed of. You are going to enter Arachna Kingdom as a guest of their ball."

"A… ball?!" Buguese questioned, not quite getting Mantid's idea, but at the same time being very repelled by it.

"That's correct," said Mantid. "You'll be able to sneak around easier. Of course, you'd have to disguise yourself well enough, but I trust that you can do that. Once inside, then you can search for the key. If all else fails, you will also possess the element of surprise. However, I suspect you'll have no trouble finding it because you'll be taking Aqune. She'll also be acting as your date."

"What?" Buguese shouted. He was a bit stunned by this idea, but at the same time, he thought that it could be interesting. "I'll go and get her, Mantid-sama," he concluded.

"There's no need," Mantid stated. "I already informed our human of this mission. Come out, Aqune."

Aqune appeared from a corner, of course wearing her mask.

"I'm ready, Buguese," said Aqune. She followed him out of the room, keeping a completely blank expression the whole time.

"What exactly does Mantid-sama want?" Buguese thought to himself. "It would be wrong of me to question him, but even if Aqune and I could break in, we would be easily distinguished from the humans. Of course, Aqune would look completely human if I removed her mask, but then she couldn't be trusted to obey. Mantid-sama told us to disguise ourselves, but the question is, how?"

Just that wouldn't be enough though, Buguese decided. He would have to get the act perfect. Failure wasn't an option when it came to serving Mantid and creating an ideal Insector world. He'd need to get Aqune to play her part as well. Maybe it could be done in masked-mode, but that too would be a challenge.

"I'll convince her to listen to me," Buguese thought to himself. "She has to!" he decided. "Come here, Aqune," he called.

"Yes," said Aqune.

"Take off your mask," he ordered. "But don't let it break, so it can still be used later."

"Yes," replied Aqune. She thought it was a strange order, but did it anyway. Then she was reverted back to normal.

"Buguese… huh?" she questioned.

"Do you remember Mantid-sama's orders?" Buguese asked.

"Yes," said Aqune. "But… how? Why?"

"The why is that we should never question Mantid," Buguese replied. "You have to follow his orders, because regardless of the oddity, this is going to be a vital operation." Buguese replied.

"Fine, I will," said Aqune.

"As for the how," Buguese continued "I'm not sure yet myself. Do you have any ideas for a disguise?"

Aqune looked down at the mask in her hand. She wondered what the point was in asking her. It was Buguese who owned this particular one, not that she could really call it a disguise.

"You wanted this back, right?" Aqune asked nervously.

"I do," said Buguese. He took it from her and secured it back on his belt. "Thank you, dear," he said, patting Aqune on the head.

"Creepy," she thought to herself. "Maybe that was a bad idea."

"Now, any ideas?" Buguese asked.

"Um… I don't know what would be big enough to cover your antennae," admitted Aqune. "Maybe you could wear a sheet, but I don't know if it's too practical. It would just make you look even more suspicious."

"I believe you're right," said Buguese. "I do have an idea though. If I wore a large cloak, it might have the right allure for a ball. Now Aqune, what do you have to wear?"

"Not much," she replied. "But I think I have something. I'll be back."

"Alright," said Buguese. "Meet me back here in about five minutes. I have to go speak with Mantid again."

Buguese approached Mantid's room. He only had a simple question to ask, but it was bothering him too much. He said that he wouldn't question Mantid, but would make an exception this time. However, his trip was interrupted.

"What's bothering you?" asked Beerain.

"You would know if you'd heard about Mantid-sama's latest plan," replied Buguese.

"I've heard about it," said Beerain. I don't like it for _personal_ reasons, but it makes sense that the Spider Riders would be off guard during a party."

"That's right!" stated Buguese. "That was all?"

"I think you're reading far too much into this," said Beerain. "And I don't like that either. She's just a human, you know? When we complete Mantid-sama's goal, she'll have to be eliminated with the rest of them. And besides, you…"

But she was interrupted when she heard the sound of footsteps. Looking at Buguese's face, Beerain knew it would be pointless to continue now. He simply looked too impressed by what he saw. It was Aqune, of course. She was wearing a long, black dress. While it was simple and plain, it seemed to suit her well.

"I'm here, as you ordered Buguese," announced Aqune.

"Uh… yes," said Buguese, having a lack for words. He liked getting to see Aqune in something different for once, he thought. Maybe he should get her some more clothes, but that could wait. Now, it was time to complete Mantid's latest task.

"I guess I'll leave this to you two," said Beerain, with a hint of disappointment. She then left the hallway.

"Yes, we should go now," said Buguese. "I didn't get to speak with Mantid, but I understand what he wanted. Perhaps… we were reading far too much into this," he added, borrowing Beerain's words. "Obviously, the Spider Riders will be more off guard tonight."

"You're right," said Aqune. "The Spider Riders…" she thought to herself. It would be nice if I could be spending time with them tonight." But then she remembered. She would be. It wasn't exactly as she planned, but she would be at the ball, even though she would be arriving late and without an invitation.

Buguese had acquired a cloak, which would cover most of his body, including his antennae. His face was technically visible, but if he was cautious enough that wouldn't matter. He and Aqune quickly headed out, riding on his floating disc-like thing. They eventually reached the gates of Arachna Kingdom.

"Oh, you're here for the ball correct?" asked one of the guards. "You know, you're a bit late."

"That's right," said Aqune.

"Um... feel free to come in," said the guard, staring at Aqune. Buguese and Aqune did so, entering the kingdom.

"Cute girl, huh?" The guard asked another.

"Yeah, but I wonder where she came from?" the other said.

"Who knows," the first replied. "Some of the villagers probably only come out for special events. They're missing out, but it's not my place to tell them to do otherwise.

"Guess you're right," replied the other.

Buguese was disgusted upon stepping foot into the large gathering of Arachnan humans. This quickly reminded him of how much he needed to complete the mission at hand.

"Aqune, you must work on locating the Oracle Key," he told her, quietly enough to avoid being heard.

"Right but won't that be suspicious too?" Aqune questioned.

"Go and find some place to hide before using your powers then," answered Buguese. "I'm sure there's some place where no humans will interfere."

"I'll try," said Aqune. She went off, not being concerned about how she could find Buguese later. Eventually, she found an empty corner. Aqune began to chant. She had located the Spider Riders' key, but Buguese was not going to be happy. It was in the possession of Hunter. It made sense to Aqune that even though he was at a ball, he'd have to keep such a precious item safe. However, this would certainly make things difficult and she wanted to steal it even less now. Soon enough, Buguese had found Aqune again, so it was time to take action of some sort, whether she liked it or not.

"What did you find out?" asked Buguese.

"It's closer than you think," replied Aqune. "Hunter has it."

"Hunter Steele!" Buguese stated, still quietly, but very, very annoyed. "I guess we'll have to reveal ourselves soon," he decided. "Take me to him!"

"Right," said Aqune. She led him carefully around the celebrating and dancing people. Then they saw Hunter. Somehow, Corona had convinced him to dance with her. It was a somewhat amusing sight for Aqune, because Hunter seemed like a helpless case when it came to dancing. Corona looked to be amusing herself though, and Hunter didn't seem completely bothered by the situation that he had been dragged into.

Buguese, on the other hand, simply increased in his annoyance at Hunter.

"Calm down," said Aqune. "Let's take this slowly."

"Why?!" Buguese asked. "If you're trying to get in my way of killing Hunter Steele and taking his Oracle Key, I will not allow it."

"That's not it," said Aqune. Technically, Buguese was exactly right, but admitting that would get Aqune nowhere, except maybe thrown to the floor like the last time. Buguese wasn't great to be around when angered.

"I have to try and keep him calm," Aqune thought to herself. She had a small idea, but it wasn't something that anybody in their right mind would be comfortable with doing. Still, it was that or have to deal with Buguese getting even more angry. "Why don't we dance first?" Aqune suggested. "After all, we are supposed to be acting as if we're just a normal couple at this dance, to present the element of surprise." She knew that Hunter would be very surprised indeed.

"What are you saying?" Buguese questioned. "I don't dance."

"Neither do I," said Aqune. "We're both beginners, so we can try and help each other."

Buguese looked at Aqune in puzzlement. Upon doing so though, he was again marveled by her beauty. Maybe he couldn't dance and had no desire of doing so. However, if it was with her, then he didn't mind so much.

"Fine," he stated. Aqune decided to make the first move. She clasped one of his hands in hers. It was indeed awkward, but she was in too deep now to let go. Not knowing what to do with her other arm, she decided to wrap it around his body. She started the 'dance,' or excuse for one, by making a side-step with her right foot, following with her left. She hoped that Buguese would get the idea to do the same. Fortunately, he did. Continuing to make small steps, the two began to do what could actually pass as a simple dance. It still felt odd for Aqune, but closing her eyes, she began to actually enjoy herself. She could concentrate more on bringing out the grace within her.

Buguese was completely uncertain on what to do. To an extent, he was enjoying it, or at least her, and that in itself was disturbing to him. He remembered Beerain's words. 'She's just a human.' That was true. The barrier between species showed clearly here. What Aqune was seemingly easily able to get into seemed like an impossibility to him. There was no way he could match all her steps. Who would've thought she'd be such a natural at this. Buguese hoped he could reach Aqune's level, even though he didn't want to do this in the first place. Aqune's grace, despite still being flawed, was just another thing that made this 'human' appeal to him.

Of course, it was only inevitable that they'd be putting on a show with their dance and that Hunter would notice it, because he was so nearby.

"Corona, look over there," he said.

"Not now, Hunter," she replied. "Well… I guess it's only fair that you can take a break now."

"It isn't that!" said Hunter. "I think I just saw Aqune."

"What?" exclaimed Corona, very surprised. However, when she looked she indeed saw Aqune. "What could she be doing here?"

"I'm not sure," said Hunter. "But I'm going to find out."

"Me too, Hunter," decided Corona, following him.

Despite being caught up in dancing, Aqune was very much in-tuned to the sounds around her. She had heard the two Spider Riders talking.

"Buguese, we have to leave," she whispered. "Hunter's coming."

"Leave?" questioned Buguese. "I think I'd rather finish him off!"

"Aqune, what are you doing here?" questioned Hunter.

"It's… I really can't explain, Hunter," she replied.

"Then allow me," said Buguese. He threw off his cloak, which he was wearing over his regular cape, and revealed himself.

"It's… Buguese!" said Hunter in shock.

"That's right, Hunter Steele!" declared Buguese. "You wanted to know what we're doing here, correct?" he questioned.

"I don't need to ask anymore," replied Hunter. "You're here to try and steal the Oracle Key, and you dragged Aqune along to do the work for you."

"That's not all," said Buguese. "Aqune and I are here on a date!" He wrapped his arm around Aqune, pulling her closer to him.

"That's not true, right Aqune?" asked Hunter.

"There's some truth to it," Aqune replied. "This was one of Mantid's plans. I kind of enjoyed the dancing though." she said sadly.

"So did I," said Buguese. "Now Aqune, why don't we wrap up this almost perfect date by destroying Hunter Steele?!"

"I can't do that," Aqune responded.

"Alright," said Buguese. "I knew it would be a good thing that you gave me this back earlier." He gave Aqune her mask. "Now you can help me kill him. This will be a fitting end, that can only be made better when we return to Mantid-sama with Hunter Steele's Oracle Key!" He then laughed evilly.

"I won't let that happen," declared Hunter. He then transformed. Corona did the same and they stood to face Buguese and Aqune.

"I'm sorry I had to do this Aqune, but fulfilling Mantid's desires comes first," he stated to her, before launching at Hunter with his sword. Because Hunter was occupied, Aqune began to fight Corona. Due to her being in a dress, she wasn't able to move as much as necessary, so Aqune transformed. Then, she was able to fight on equal terms with Corona, if not better.

"Aqune, please stop!" pleaded Corona. Beginning to worry about both herself and Hunter, Corona knew that she had to come up with a plan. "That's right," she thought to herself. "I have to cut off Aqune's mask."

Meanwhile, Buguese and Hunter were in the middle of a vicious battle.

"Give up the Oracle Key," Buguese demanded.

"I never give up!" said Hunter.

"Well soon that will be your fatal flaw…" said Buguese with satisfaction. "When I finish you!"

"I'm not so sure," said Hunter, turning his gaze to Corona. Corona had managed to slice off Aqune's mask with an arrow. If it worked once, she was right in believing that it would work again. Aqune froze in shock for a moment.

"Are you okay, Aqune?" Hunter asked.

"Yeah…" said Aqune, trying to bring herself back to stability.

"Aqune!" yelled Buguese, going up to her. Aqune grabbed on to his arm to fully catch herself.

"Buguese, why did you do that," she asked. She knew why, but wasn't happy about it.

"Because Mantid-sama will not be pleased if I leave empty handed!" he answered. Pushing Aqune behind him, he aimed his sword threateningly as Hunter once more.

"Wait!" said Aqune. She glanced at Hunter, with a brief smile. "Maybe you didn't get an Oracle Key, but how could you think that this was a complete waste?"

"It's my only desire to please Mantid-sama, my Aqune." He told her. "Even if you don't share such dreams, you can not try to stop me from carrying them out."

"But… don't tell me you forgot already… about the dance," she responded, changing the subject. Moving back in front of him, she took Buguese's hand again and motioned to him to dance. Reluctantly, Buguese joined in this time by putting his hand on her shoulder." Aqune smiled to Hunter again before continuing the dance.

"What's… going on?" questioned Corona in confusion.

"I think Aqune is trying to save us from Buguese," said Hunter, also fairly stunned. "But by dancing?" The two continued watching though. Hunter noticed that they were improving from the way they were before.

Aqune kept her eyes open this time, and they could not stop crossing Buguese's. In fact, the whole thing didn't seem as awkward as before. Aqune was enjoying it, despite the obvious tension that neither of them noticed. Somehow, their faces came closer together. Finally, their lips met for a moment. When they realized what had happened, they both pulled away in shock. It wasn't that it was a bad thing, but it wasn't necessarily a good thing either.

Regardless, Hunter and Corona were equally as shocked.

"Aqune… just…" Hunter managed to say.

"That's a bit unexpected," stated Corona.

"Hunter Steele," announced Buguese, who hadn't exactly let go of Aqune, despite being a bit unhappy about what he did. "This time, you've managed to win, but I will be back and Aqune and I will reclaim your Oracle Keys!

Slashing his sword, he created a blinding explosion. When Hunter and Corona were able to see again, Buguese and Aqune were nowhere to be found. The two were soon back at Mantid's fortress.

"Um… Buguese," said Aqune. "Let's just forget that happened."

"Alright" agreed Buguese. "Starting tomorrow, we must continue to loyally serve Mantid."

Aqune nodded, but secretly, she still didn't want to do so, just as secretly, neither of them would really be able to forget that kiss.


End file.
